Dr. Henrietta Hughes OBE has been appointed as England’s first Patient Safety Commissioner by Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay.
The appointment of a Commissioner is in response to the recommendations from Baroness Cumberlege’s patient safety study, which was released in 2020, and will supplement and enhance ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of medicines and medical devices.
Dr. Hughes will serve as an impartial point of contact for patients, giving their concerns a voice and ensuring that they are heard. She will assist the NHS and government in better understanding what they can do to put patients first, enhance patient safety, and emphasise the value of patient and public input.
Dr Hughes will be an advocate for patients, bringing with her a lot of expertise in patient care as the NHS’s National Guardian, where she encouraged employees to speak out and backed whistleblowers. She will continue to work as a general practitioner and as the head of Childhood First, a foundation that supports and advances the care, treatment, and rehabilitation of children and adolescents.
Steve Barclay, Health and Social Care Secretary, said:
“It is essential that we put patient safety first and continue to listen to and champion patients’ voices.
“Dr Henrietta Hughes brings a wealth of experience with her as the first ever Patient Safety Commissioner to improve the safety of medicines and medical devices and her work will help support NHS staff as we work hard to beat the Covid backlogs.”
Henrietta Hughes, Patient Safety Commissioner, said:
“I am humbled and honoured to be appointed as the first Patient Safety Commissioner. This vital role, recommended in First Do No Harm, will make a difference to the safety of patients in relation to medicines and medical devices.
“Patients’ voices need to be at the heart of the design and delivery of healthcare. I would like to pay tribute to the incredible courage, persistence and compassion of all those who gave evidence to the report, their families and everyone who continues to campaign tirelessly for safer treatments.
“I will work collaboratively with patients, the healthcare system and others so that all patients receive the information they need, all patients’ voices are heard and the system responds quickly to keep people safe.”
Because women did not feel that their concerns were heard or addressed, the First Do No Harm report, which was directed by Baroness Cumberlege and released in 2020, examined problems connected to the usage of Primodos, sodium valproate, and pelvic mesh.
It emphasised the need for enhanced patient protection and suggested the appointment of an impartial patient safety commissioner. The government committed to appointing a Patient Safety Commissioner with authority over medicines and medical devices as part of its formal response to the report’s recommendations, which was published in July 2021.
The government never stops trying to make patient safety better. Legal safeguards for whistle-blowers have been put in place, Trusts are now required by law to notify patients if their safety has been compromised, and an NHS Patient Safety Strategy was released in 2019 to foster a culture of safety and learning throughout the NHS. The Health Services Safety Investigations Body was formed by the Health and Care Act of 2022 to look into patient safety issues in England.
According to the Governance Code for Public Appointments, this appointment was made after an open competition and after a pre-appointment scrutiny hearing with the Health and Social Care Committee.